Grave Concern

Imagine encountering an old friend...on a table in a medical lab. Rick Stanley is earning his medical degree, and during a human anatomy lab, he discovers that an acquaintance of his has seemingly donated his body to science. An honorable choice, except that Rick recently witnessed the man’s burial, and, as the college struggles with a shortage of specimens for study, Rick can’t help but wonder how his friend came to be on the table.

With the help of his fellow medical students, Rick begins an investigation that will uncover much more than he expected, and the illegal obtainment of medical specimens is only the beginning. Racial tensions still boil in the southern college town, and when Rick discovers that a very dominant hate group is working with the school in its efforts to procure bodies, a frightening truth becomes clear: people may be dying, to fill the school’s need.

James R. Barnes grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and received his medical degree in the city of Little Rock. He went on to complete his five year General Surgery residency, spending the final year as Chief Surgery Resident. Dr. Barnes recently moved back to Little Rock from Oxford, Mississippi where he has now joined the University of Arkansas as an assistant professor of surgery. He has a six year old son, named Blake.